1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gate driving device driven at high voltage and an inverter having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an inverter is a type of electrical circuit able to change direct current (DC) power into alternating current (AC) power, and is capable of controlling voltage amplitude, frequency, and the like of the AC power, thereby outputting AC power for driving a motor, for example.
Such an inverter has a wide range of domestic, commercial and industrial applications.
A driving device may drive such an inverter. The driving device drives the inverter by turning a switch of an arm for supplying AC power in the inverter on and off so as to supply the AC power.
For industrial applications of the inverter, high voltage AC power may be required, depending on industrial requirements.
A typical inverter may employ gate driving integrated circuits, each of which turns a high-side switch and a low-side switch of an inverter arm, on and off, respectively. Here, since high voltage may be applied to the high-side switch, the gate driving integrated circuit turning the high-side switch on and off is required to have withstand voltage characteristics in order to withstand high levels of voltage applied to the high-side switch.
In an inverter for industrial use, a voltage of 1200 V or above may be applied to the high-side switch, and thus, the gate driving integrated circuit controlling the high-side switch is required to have withstand voltage characteristics of 1200V or above. However, such a gate driving integrated circuit having high withstand voltage characteristics may be relatively expensive to manufacture.
Patent Document 1, referenced below, discloses an inverter circuit including a high-voltage driving circuit, but is silent on dividing the withstand voltage of the driving device.